AFI sets tough qualification standards for 2026 Commonwealth Games
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The Athletics Federation of India has announced strict qualification criteria for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with athletes in as many as 17 events required to either equal or better existing national records to be considered for selection.
The Commonwealth Games will be held from July 23 to August 2 in Scotland and will feature a reduced athletics programme. Each country will be allowed a maximum of 32 athletes, including no more than 16 women. In response to these limits, AFI has significantly raised performance benchmarks to field a highly competitive Indian team.
In men’s events, athletes must surpass national records in the 100m, 400m, 1500m, 110m hurdles, and hammer throw. National record holder Animesh Kujur’s 100m time of 10.18 seconds is below the AFI qualifying mark of 10.16 seconds, while 110m hurdles record holder Tejas Shirse’s 13.41 seconds also falls short of the required standard.
In women’s events, Asian Games silver medallist Jyothi Yarraji will need to improve her national record of 12.78 seconds in the 100m hurdles to 12.67 seconds. Vithya Ramraj, who had equalled PT Usha’s long-standing national record of 55.42 seconds in the 400m hurdles, must now clock 54.67 seconds.
The men’s javelin throw has a qualification mark of 82.61 metres, a distance already achieved by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, Sachin Yadav, and Rohit Yadav. AFI has not fixed a standard for the men’s 4x400m relay, while the mixed 4x400m relay standard is set at 3 minutes 16 seconds.
The Federation Cup in Ranchi from May 22 to 25 will serve as the final selection trials. AFI has retained discretion to grant exemptions in exceptional cases and include athletes considered strong medal prospects.